Well! Well!Well! It all started with small re-union promises at school and ended up planning an imposing trekking trip to Sandekphu. Me and my friends were completely determined to implement our long- cherished "friends - only" trip dream as soon as we stepped out of school. Planning out first trekking trip for a school passed out only with 'Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani' references demanded a bit more research than expected. But yeah!we chalked out a plan soon and guess what it was in our budget.
We booked our train tickets two months prior in order to get a compensated price. We boarded Darjeeling Mail from Sealdah station at 9:30 pm and reached NJP by 10:00 am. At the station, we hired a shared cab to Chitrey with another couple who eventually became our trip buddies for the rest of the journey. It was a 5 hour drive to Maneybhanjang(6500 ft. Approx) distancing 90Km. The road went through the foothills of Himalayas and gained altitude inside coniferous forest. We got our identification verified at Manebhanjang (India - Nepal border) and covered the last 3 kms steep roads and hairpin bends and reached our base camp Chitrey (7200ft. approx). Apart from marvellous views of nature, the Chitrey Monastery is the prime attraction.
Our trek started today,the trail was accompanied by awestruck views and abrupt terrains which often criss-crossed the PWD roads. Honestly, being my first trek, it didn't seem very easy but with small breaks we managed to continue on the table top meadow and reached the tea-stall at Lameydhura.The misty weather cleared eventually as we reached Meghma for our lunch. As the route defines India-Nepal border we witnessed para-military camps (Sashastra Seems Bal) and also the beautiful Meghma Monastery on the other side of the road. Surprisingly, the mountain dogs, who were super- friendly accompanied us from all the way from Chitrey to Meghma.After traversing for another hour we reached our destination Tumling (9500 ft. approx). This place was particularly windy as on the Singalila ridge with no network but awesome views which could be enjoyed with hot masala chai.
We planned to view sunrise early in the morning but unfortunately the misty weather along with snowfall called a raincheck on that. But we compensated with some traditional Tibetan breakfast which packed us up with high energy to conquer the longest trail in our trip. We started on a level ground and reached the checkpost of Singalila National Park where we obtained our permits and got into the National Park. Walking on the rolling trail we reached Jaubari village inside Nepal where we met another group of enthusiast trekkers. Their company and energy eased our journey. After a couple of hours we reached to a settlement called Garibas from where the steep climb of the day started. The road entered into the dense forest where we took short-cuts often which met the jeep road while gaining altitude at short distances. After a long stretch of 7 hours we reached our destination for the day a small village named Kalapokhri (10,200 ft.approx). The place is named after a small scared lake which consists of black water hence the name ( 'kala' means black and 'Pokhri' means pond in Nepali). The native people here believe it to be the home of the formidable Kalnaag or the huge slithering snake.
After adoring the magnificent view from the hill-tops and the Kalpokhri lake, we started our trek to our long-awaited destination Sandakphu.Initially it started with the gentle walk while traversing through the mountain ranges till Bhikeybhanjang after that the rest of the trail started gaining altitude gradually. Along the way Silver fir , variety of Conifers dominated the tree line. After ascending for a couple of hours we reached the top of the ridge Sandakphu (12,000 ft. approx). The top of the ridge is the highest point on our trail, hence the view of the mountains were uninterrupted. In the evening we walked on the Phalut road and witnessed slender snowfall with mellow sunlight hence endorsed the most exquisite moment of our trip.
We woke up early and enjoyed the fascinating sunrise and marvelled the gigantic Kanchendzongha massif along with Kumbhakarna to it's left and Pandim to it's right forming as rightly said the "Sleeping Buddha". Further left we spotted the three sisters, Chomolonzo, Makalu, Everest, Lohtse, Nuptse, Baruntse, Chamlang and other peaks. After breakfast we started our descent.The snowy trail went through conifers and bamboo forest. We hoped to spot a Red panda on the way but unfortunately we didn't. After around 4 hours we reached the edge of the ridge and a vast valley opened up. We halted for our lunch at a lodge in Gurdum Village and continued our descent inside pine forest via the Srikola river to our night halt at Timburey.
We descended along the Srikhola river for an hour to reach the old suspension bridge. We hired a shared cab from there to NJP. It was a 5 hour drive and we reached station by 7 and boarded our train (Paharia Express) to Howrah and thus our journey came to an end with a brimming box of memories.
